Can you delay your period from coming on a certain day or week?

It depends. You should talk to your health care provider first. It’s easiest to delay your period if you’re taking a birth control pill that has the same amount of hormone in all of the pills during the first 3 weeks.

To delay your period while taking birth control pills, simply do not take the last row of the 7 “reminder” pills. These pills will be a different color. Instead, open up a new pack of pills and continue to take one active pill at the same time every day.

Why do some girls want to delay their period?

Some girls decide to delay their period if they have an important event during the last week of their cycle such as the prom, a competition, sports event, or big test, and they don’t want to deal with having their period. This doesn’t work for everyone though. Some girls will still have spotting or light bleeding while delaying their period, so it’s a good idea to have a panty liner or tampon on hand just in case. Remember: You’ll need to have an “extra” pill pack if you plan on delaying your period so you don’t run out.

The Center for Young Women’s Health (CYWH) is a collaboration between the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine and the Division of Gynecology at Boston Children’s
Hospital. The Center is an educational entity that exists to provide teen girls and young women with carefully researched health information, health education programs, and conferences.